Territory



(No Model.)v l

. L. E. REDDEN GAR Gow-LING.

No. 562,028. Patented June 16, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOWELL EDVARD REDDEN, OF TEMPE, ARIZONA TERRITORY.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 562,028, dated June 16, 1896. Application lecl November 22, 1895. Serial No. 569,846. -(No model.)

` To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOWELL EDWARD RED- DEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tempe, in the county of Maricopa and Territory of Arizona, have invented a new and useful CarCoupling, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in car-couplings.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient car-coupling capable of coupling automatically and adapted to be readily set for uncoupling to hold the coupling-pin elevated out of engagement with a link until the latter has been withdrawn from the draw-head by the separation of the cars.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a car-coupling which will permit the cars of a train to be successively started similar to the ordinary pin-and-link car-couplings.

The ,invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out inthe claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a car-coupling constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the bell-crank lever. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the link.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l designates a draw-head designed to be secured to a car in the usual manner'and provided with a link-opening and having a longitudinal slot 2 extending through its top and bottom and receiving a bell-crank lever The bell-crank lever is fulcrumed at its angle by a transverse pin or pivot 4, and it is composed of a substantially L- shaped rearwardly-extending weighted arm 5 and a forwardly and downwardly extending arm 6, disposed at an inclination and arranged'to be engaged by a link 7, entering the draw-head. A forwardly-extending arm 8 is pivoted to the top or angle of the bell-crank lever by the transverse pin 4, and it is bifurcated to receive the lever 3, and it is adapted to rest upon a lug or projection 9, formed integral with the bell-crank lever and extending forward from the same and located a short distance below the pivot-point.

The weight of the arm 5 is adapted to swing the inclined arm 6 upward in position to be engaged by the link and also to raise the for- Wardly-extendin g arm 8 above the draw-head to lift a coupling-pin l0, which is carried by the front end of the arm 8 to a position above the link to permit the latter to enter the drawhead preparatory to automatic coupling.

The coupling-pin is pivoted in the bifurcation of the front end of the arm 8 and may be of any desired construction, but is preferably flattened instead of round like the ordinary coupling-pin, and when the link enters the draw-head and engages the inclined arm 6 the bell-crank lever is swung rearward, causing the coupling-pin to fall and engage the link. The link has extended terminals ll, and when the coupling-pin is in engagement with the link the latter maintains the inclined arm in a depressed position and prevents the Weight from raising the pin out of engagement with it.

Any suitable means may be provided for enabling the operation of uncoupling to be performed from the top and sides of a car or from a coach, and as the upward-extending arm is capable of swinging independently of the bell-crank lever it is adapted to be raised to disengage the coupling-pin from the link to effect the operation of uncoupling.

The arm S is held in an elevated position until the link has been withdrawn from the draw-head by a pivoted catch l2, which is mounted on top of the draw-head at the rear end of the slot or opening 2. The catch is pivoted at its rear end, and it is provided at its front end with a depending lip 13, which engages opposite shoulders 14 of the rear end of the arm 8, and the shoulders are located at opposite sides of the bifurcation thereof. As soon as the link is withdrawn from the drawhead the angle of the bell-crank lever engages the catch and lifts the same out of engagement with the arm 8, and the parts are ready for automatic coupling.

It will be seen that the car-coupling is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is positive and reliable in opera- IOO tion and capable of automaticcoupling, and that it possesses the-advantages of the ordi-I nary pin-and-link car-coupling in that it permits the draw-headssuiiicient play to enable the cars of a train to be successively started.

Changesinthe form, proportion, and minory details of construction may be resorted to Without depart-ing from the principle or sacrificing any advantages of the invention.

lVhat I claim is- 1. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a bell-crank leverfulcrumed ont the draw-head and comprising a rearwardly-l extending Weighted arm, and a downwardly-` extending inclined arm arranged to be engaged by a link, a forwardly-extending arm pivotally connected with the draw-head and supported by the bell-crank lever, a couplingpin connected with and carried by the forwardly-extending arm, substantially as described.

2. In a car-coupling,the combination of a draw-head, a bell-crank lever fulcrumed on the drawlhead and composed of a rearwardlyextending weighted arm, and a forwardly-extending inclined arm, a coupling-pin, aforwardly-extending arm pivoted to the drawhead and carrying the couplingfpin, and arranged to be supported in an elevated posit-ion bythe bell-crank lever, and a link adapt-ed to engage the inclined arm to cause the coupling-pin to fall, said link having its end portion extended sui'liciently to maintain the inclined arm in a depressed positioinwhen in engagement with the couplingpin, substan tially as and'for thepurpose described.

`3. `-In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head having a longitudinal slot,the` bellcranklever 3 fulcrumed in the slot of the draw-headby a transverse pin and composed of a rearwardly-extending weighted arm, and

tially as and for the purpose described.

et. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a weighted lever fulcrumed on the drawhead, a forwardly-extendin g arm pivotally connected with the draw-head, capable of movement independently of the weighted lever and supported by the latter, a coupling pin connected with `the forwardlyextending arm and carried by the same, and a catch arranged to engage the arm automatically when the latter is swung upward from the lever, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

5. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a bell-crank lever fulcrumed` on the draw-head, a forwardly-extending arm pivotally connected with the draw-head and supported by the bell-crank lever and provided with a shoulder and a pivoted catch mounted on the draw-head in rear of said arm and adapted to engagethe same to hold the arm elevated, such catch being adapted to be engaged and released bythe lever, after a link has been withdrawn from the draw-head, substantially las described.

In testimonythat I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my si gnature in thepresence of two witnesses.

LOXVELL EINVARI) REDDEN.

Witnesses:

IIOMER REDDEN, `MONROE REDDEN. 

